White eye shadows

Just like with black eye shadows, I think that everyone should consider purchasing a white eye shadow.  It may seem counterintuitive that someone who is as fair skinned as I am would be talking about purchasing white eye shadow but there are a few key applications that make it a must-have.

First off, this is pretty much THE color that I apply on my brow bone when I do stage makeup. I will sometimes apply a beige but 99.8% of the time, it's white. It will provide good contrast that will work great with distance .

If I'm doing regular makeup, I like to apply white at the arch of the brow on the brow bone: it gives a nice pop of light.

One of my trick to appear to have bigger eyes (believe me, my eyes are normal size... it's all smoke and mirror [and makeup application]) is to apply some white eye shadow at the inner corner of the eye. I do that especially if I've used dark colors but I may do it whichever color I used. It totally re-opens your eyes to do that.  So if you've shied from using dark colors because it makes your eyes look smaller, try this trick: it works, believe me!

Another option with white is to us it if you're wanting a vintage makeup look. I typically will go for a beige instead but white is another option.

Contrary to the black eye shadows, the finish of a white eye shadow will not make nearly as much of a difference. What will, though, is the exact shade.

• I have a blueish shimmery white pigment from MAC that I've worn only a handful of times. I can wear it on my eyelid paired with something else but I can't use it alone nor on my brow bone. The issue is that the blueish tint is making it appear as if I have a black eye. NOT the look that I'm going for.
• I have a very matte white shadow from MAC (Gesso) that I use mainly for the arch of the brow and inner corner of the eye for regular makeup. I tend to prefer something matte for regular makeup.
• I have a frosty white that I had received from Sephora (Aspen Summit) in my birthday kit a couple of years ago. (When you're a Sephora rewards member, you get a freebie each year on your birthday.) I like the shine of it for stage makeup and apply it all over my brow bone and at the inner corner.

The point here is trial and errors and finding which one you prefer. If you want to purchase only one white (and I wouldn't recommend buying more than one or two), what will matter the most is the exact shade. Stay clear of blueish tints (as evidenced by my own bad experience).  You can assess what the shade is and how it will behave by applying a little on your hand and moving the hand around under light: it will reveal what other tint is in that white. That is, of course, if you are at a makeup store like MAC or Sephora.  If you are purchasing online, then it's a little bit more hit and miss but they generally will take a portion of the product and spread it to showcase the exact color.

And as an FYI, what you're aiming for when you're applying the white eye shadow to light up your eyes is NOT the clown white effect (unless that's what you're going for, of course) but a pale dusting. Whereas I apply multiple layers of eye shadow on the eyelids and at the crease, generally just one swipe will be enough with the white.

Product Review - Medusa's Makeup

At the beginning of the year, I decided that I needed more glitter in my makeup options. So I did a quick search online and stumbled upon Medusa's Makeup.  The products looked interesting so I put an order in.

This picture here shows what I received in my first order. So, yes, there was more than one order. ;)

I ended up ordering 4 glitter powders, The Fix, a body shimmer in "Ghostly" and a kabuki brush.  They also sent a cute sticker and a brochure with their products in there.  As you can see, the packaging was real good and prevented potential mishaps from happening.



Here, you can see a close up of the glitter powders. From top to bottom, the colors are Moonwalk, .44 Magnum, Antoinette, and Mix Blitz.  The bottom container that doesn't look like other ones is The Fix, which is a wax base for the glitter.

I gave that "The Fix" a try the first time that I tried the glitter. And, let me tell you, I wasn't impressed. It really wasn't holding on to the glitter nearly as much as I wanted and needed it to.  I will use it for if I want to apply glitter a bit loosely on my body but not on my eyelids. The Glitter Glue by Too Faced is much superior in its hold so use that instead of purchasing this.

However, I was greatly impressed with the glitter: it wasn't too fluffy (i.e., it didn't fly off everywhere) and it looked amazingly gorgeous.  I will totally buy more glitter, for sure!  The fee is quite reasonable too at 7$ for a 2-oz container.



I also really like how the glitter doesn't make you look like you have a mirror ball on your eyelids. I mean, it's still very shiny but not gaudy shiny.


Here, you can see a makeup where I applied Mix Blitz. I had taken this pic originally to showcase the staying power of the Glitter Glue. This was after I had danced the whole night at Greek Islands. Still very much holding and you can see the pretty purple.

Here, I was wearing the .44 Magnum glitter.  It's one of my favorite ones for stage. I do have another silver glitter by Make Up For Ever but I much prefer this shade. Instead of being absolutely silver, it has some dark tint to it. So it helps to keep the makeup look a tad darker.

(Note: I will post a blog about how I did this makeup in the near future.)











Here is a recap of my thoughts on the first order:
The Fix: I wouldn't recommend purchasing unless you intend to use glitter loosely. I'd stick with the Glitter Glue by Too Faced (no pun intended but it's a pretty good one).
Body Shimmer: It didn't have the effect that I was expecting. It was a VERY subtle shimmer. So it's great for a party setting but not enough for stage. I was hoping for something that would make my skin look luminescent on stage. That ain't it.
Glitter Powders: AWESOME stuff! I will definitely buy more! Just the right amount of shiny. Just the right size of glitter for a good hold.



And the glitter powders were so awesome that I decided to try out their eye dusts (which are really loose eye shadows).   From top to bottom, the shades are: Penny Wise, Magma, Vanilla Latte, Barbarella, and Ocean Drive. The lip gloss is Sparkle Mania, which they were recommending to get to put over either an eye dust or glitter powder on your lips to create a funky lip gloss effect. I have yet to try that.

Well, the eye dusts definitely did not disappoint. The payload was great, the colors are awesome, and the powder is oh so fine! It's very soft on the eyelids. My only complaint is that the colors did not look exactly like they did on my computer screen when I purchased them (whereas the glitter colors were pretty true to my computer screen) but that can happen with computer screens. Still, the colors are very pretty.






Will I purchase from Medusa's Makeup again? Oh hell yes, I will!

They often run specials like 15% off or have some products on sale so do keep an eye out on those. http://www.medusasmakeup.com/

Product Review - Kate Somerville True Lash Enhancing Eye Makeup Remover

Boy, that product's name is a mouthful!  I got this sample as part of a sample bag from Sephora. I'm a VIB (Very Important Beauty insider) with Sephora and they will often have special promotions: this one was a bag with 7 deluxe samples and this product was in it.

Last week, I ran out of makeup towelettes and didn't have any makeup remover left so I remembered that there was a sample of makeup remover and I used it. I originally thought that I would use it only one night but I ended up using it for like 4-5 nights.

The first thing to note is that it's a cream that you apply on your eyelids to remove the makeup. If you're used to a liquid solution, it's a little weird at first. You can rinse it off afterwards or not. Since I remove my eye makeup first and then wash my face, I automatically end up rinsing it off.

I gotta say that it did a great job removing the makeup and it didn't require much rubbing to remove stubborn mascara.  I was quite impressed by it.

Definitely the thing that impressed me the most, though, was that it delivered on its promise.  It promises to "strengthen and promote lash growth to create stronger, noticeably fuller lashes." MANY beauty products make all kind of promises. I am generally skeptical until proven otherwise. And I'm always VERY skeptical of anything that says that they will improve lash growth as it has never worked on me.  So I snickered when I saw the lash growth claim and forgot about it... until, one morning, I was applying mascara (and I had discontinued use of the product by that time) and was like "Boy, my lashes are so much fuller and longer! Look at them!" And then I remembered the claim. So color me surprised but it did work!

Another cool feature for me was the fact that, given that it's a cream, it didn't dry out my eyelids at all. They felt smooth.

So I'm tempted to purchase the product because of that great result. The only thing that is making me hesitate is the cost. It's 35$ for a 1.7-oz tube.  I'm used to paying 20$ for a 3.4-oz bottle of eye makeup remover by MAC. The Kate Somerville product did do a better job at removing the mascara, though. And, well, it does more than just remove makeup.  And, again, the not drying the eyelids benefit is noteworthy for me as well. It's very likely that I will actually purchase it given all the benefits.

One option that I would have to reduce cost on the long term is to alternate using the Kate Somerville product with the MAC eye makeup remover. Say, 1 week a month I'd use the Kate Somerville product and the rest of the month I'd use the MAC product.

Product Review - DDF Brightening Cleanser

I received a sample of this product as part of the August Birchbox. The sample that I received was a very decent size at 4.3 oz! The full product is 8.5 oz so that's just half! Pretty neat!

I gave it a try and was a little weary of it because there were warnings about making your skin more sensitive to sun exposure and more prone to sunburns (mine is already very prone to those). I still gave it a shot on a day when I knew that I wasn't going to be out in the sun at all. Well, interestingly, even at first use, I did see my skin look brighter. I was quite impressed by that!

The product has a licorice smell. I don't like licorice at all (as I mentioned on a previous post, turns out that I'm actually somewhat allergic to anise) but the product only lightly smells of licorice. Since I do apply a moisturizer and now the beauty balm, it doesn't last long so that's not a bother for me. But it could be.

The first few times that I used the product, I felt like it left my skin quite dry and I needed to apply my typical moisturizer rather quickly. However, the moisturizer was enough to make the skin feel fine.

I really do like the effect that it gives on my skin and how it brightens it. I'm using it like every other day right now.

Would I purchase the full size product once I'm out of my big sample? I'm not sure. The price for the full size is 38$, which is typical of most cleanser in this category.  I don't think that I could use it daily, though, due to 1) not wanting to dry out my skin and 2) the sensitivity to sun. So, with that in mind, I'm not sure how much the brightening benefit outweighs the cost of the product (and really needing 2 products for the alternating days and for the evening [though I could use makeup remover towelettes for the evening]). The jury is still out on that one and I have a lot of product to go through before I'd reach that point where I'd make a decision but I think that I would not invest in this product given my skin type.

I can see how it could be very beneficial (to the point of purchase) for someone else. But you still would have to watch out for the sun.

Black eye shadows

Pretty much everyone should consider purchasing at some point a black eye shadow so here are some things to keep in mind as you're choosing it.

First off, why should you consider purchasing black? It is a very versatile and useful color to have on hand.  You can use it at your crease for your makeup. You can use it over an eyeliner to bolster its blackness. You could also use it over an eyeliner to smudge the line. And one thing that folks often forget about is that you don't need to use all over the crease but you could have just a little bit to darken it. There are many options to use black.

I think that black eye shadow has suffered from a bad rep that it makes you look like a raccoon and, therefore, shouldn't be used. That'd be only true if you do apply it in a raccoon mask sort of way.

Eye shadows come in various finishes (matte, frost, shimmery, sparkly, etc.). Which one you pick will have a different look... and may have a different use.

Matte: A matte black will make the area where you applied it look like it's receding. As such, you may want to use a matte black at the crease or over an eyeliner.

Shimmery: Here, I mean anything that shimmers (so frost, sparkly, whatever).  A shimmery black will tend to make the area appear to stand out.  If you want to do a smokey eye with a black eye shadow, I'd recommend using a shimmery black, especially if you will do this for stage.  Also, if you have a very deep crease, you may want to select a shimmery black to apply at the crease so as not to further deepen the look of the crease.

I actually own a few matte blacks (pressed powder and loose shadow) and several shimmery blacks. The shimmery blacks I own have different looks to them: one has a golden shimmer to it, one has a silver shimmer, one has an iridescent shimmer, etc.  It actually often happens that the blacks are part of a palette so they came with but I did choose certain shimmery blacks on purpose.

That being said, if your budget is tight and you can purchase only one black, I'd go with a shimmery finish as it will be the one that will be the most versatile.

Also, if you've ever tried a smokey eye with black and were dissatisfied with the result, try again but with a shimmery black. You'll see that it will help quite a bit.

Tips for separated products in tubes

Yesterday morning, I used a product in a tube that had separated so that reminded me that I should consider doing an entry about this. By a separated product, I mean that it's a cream and what comes out at first is an (often) oily clear (or near clear) goo and then the product itself.

Products are meant to be used regularly so, if you're not using regularly, it may separate.  Depending on the product, the length of time before separation will happen can be very different from product to product. Normally, it may take a few weeks for it to happen but it could happen quicker than that.

If you haven't been using a product from a tube in a while, you may want to massage the tube first (with the cap still on). It sounds weird but it will help remix the product together.  It's not going to make it all remixed but it will definitely help.  Obviously, you will want to be gentle when massaging the tube as you don't want it to explode all over. That would defeat the purpose.

For all that you may feel that it's wasteful, you may need to throw away the portion of product that will come out that is separated. While you can certainly apply it and it shouldn't have any nefarious consequence, it just will not do its job properly. For example, separated eye shadow primer just won't hold onto the eye shadow as well as it should if the product is not the perfect formulation.

So the bottom line really is that, for all that you want to conserve products, they are meant to be used... or else you'll actually need to throw some away.

Tips on trying out new products

I have super sensitive skin so I've been burnt before by trying on a new product and then having an allergic reaction or just my skin feeling weird. So here are a few tips and tricks to help when trying new products.  And by products here, I really mean a skin care product but the same could happen with makeup.

Quality matters
First off, quality matters. If the product is of poor quality, the likelihood that something in it will make your skin react is higher. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't try it but just that you should proceed with caution.  Also note that the generic products that you can find at the pharmacy will be comparable to the brand name but not exactly the same. Look for products that say "hypoallergenic" if you have uber sensitive skin. Even with these, you could react, but there might be less of a chance.  Quality does not necessarily correlate with price but it often does.

Small area first
If you're unsure of the product (due to quality or other reason), try it on a small area first... and consider even trying out on, say, your forearm. If your forearm breaks into hives, it's not ideal, of course, but it's less bothersome most oftentimes than on your face. Now, the skin of your arms and of your face is not exactly the same so, while your forearm may not have reacted, there is still a possibility that the skin of your face would but the likelihood is much much lower.

Introduce one thing at a time
I'm a scientist so, when we do experiments, if at all possible, we try to change one parameter at a time. So, similarly, I recommend trying on one thing at a time. The reason is simple: if something happens, then you know that was the likely due to the new product.  The problem when you're trying more than one product is two-folds, really: 1) should there be a reaction, you wouldn't know which one prompted it (and may need to go back a step and try one at a time) and 2) should you get benefit from the products (e.g., clearer skin), you won't know which one prompted the benefit.  While the latter doesn't seem like a big deal, if you have budget constraints and want to purchase only one item, which one would you purchase?

Interactions between products
One thing that sometimes happens is an interaction between the products. So it's possible that the new product, by itself or in combination with other products doesn't make you react but, in combination with other products, may create an allergic reaction.  If that happens, you obviously need to judge which ones you want to keep but, worst case, you just work them separately (e.g., on different days).

Same brand
The caveat to the general rule of introducing one product at a time is that, if the products are from the same brand, you can try more than one product at a time. The products should be more or less similar formulations and most brands develop their products to work with each other, complement each other, etc.  The interactions between products should be very minimal and you can generally rely on, if a product from a brand works for you, it's very likely that another product from the same brand would work as well. It's not 100% guaranteed, of course, as nothing ever is.

Pick your day
Pick your day when you sill sample a new product. If you have a big event, you'll be tempted to try a new fancy product because you heard good things about it but, let me tell you, that's a good way to invite a Murphy's Law. Should you react, you probably don't want to go to the event with hives on your face or looking like a scientific experiment gone wrong or something.  And consider weekend vs. weekday. Depending on your job, your hobbies, events you have coming up, you'll have a preference for one vs. the other.

Challenge/Dechallenge
If you do react but you're not sure if it's a fluke or it really happened you can do a "challenge/dechallenge" test. "Challenge" is trying on the product again and seeing whether you react. "Dechallenge" is stopping the product and seeing if the reaction subside. Now, depending on the reaction, it may be hard to tell if stopping the use of the product is directly linked to whatever reaction you have. This is when the challenge comes in: if you want to be sure if it's the product, then use it again and see what happens. Note that you definitely DO NOT need to do this. But if, for some reason, you're wondering, you can use this method.

Developing a reaction to a long time product
It sucks but it sometimes happens that, for all that you've been using the same product(s) for a long time, you may develop an allergy to it. It happened to me with L'Oreal makeup (which is what made me discover MAC): I had been using those makeup products for years and then, one day, I reacted to them. My eyelids became all red and flaky. It wasn't fun. This is where the challenge/dechallenge can be most useful: if you want to be real sure that it's a developed allergy (and not something else that was going on that made you react), you can use that method to assess that.

Look at the list of ingredients
If you break out or have an allergic reaction, look at the list of ingredients. There might be something in it that you'll discover is your allergy trigger. I have a personal example of this albeit it's with tea vs. skin care/makeup products.  I had bought a bunch of loose leaves teas... awesome stuff! I enjoyed those teas quite a bit. But then I noticed that, sometimes, I felt nauseous. It took me some time to connect the nauseous feeling with taking tea but I eventually did. The reason why it took me some time to make the connection is that not all teas made me feel bad. But, eventually, I realized that those teas that contained anise seed were the ones that made me feel nauseous. So the same could happen with beauty products or makeup: there might be one or more ingredients that make you react. So look into that and, if you notice a pattern, just stir clear of that ingredient.

Assessing the benefits
Obviously, if you're trying a new beauty or skin care product, you're hoping to get some benefit that you weren't getting before: clearer skin, smoother skin, less wrinkles, etc. With makeup, you will see the benefits right away because makeup is essentially colors on your skin so it's a straightforward thing. It's important to know, though, that, for skin care, you may not see the benefits the first day... it may take a week or several weeks to see the benefits.  If you've ever received the "pouch" samples, that's generally not enough to know whether a skin care product will work for you or not. You will be able to know if you will have a bad reaction as those happen rather quickly generally. However, when it comes to the benefits, you'll have to take a chance and guesstimate whether it will give you the anticipated benefits or not. This is where the deluxe samples that you can get from Sephora, Birchbox, or other places are very useful: by having more product, you'll be able to assess better whether you will actually get benefits before investing for the full size product.